In a special emergency session, the San Diego City Council today approved the immediate execution of Louis Ray Perez, 46, Dorothy Maraglino, 37, and Jessica Lynn Lopez, 26. The trio are all accused of participating in the kidnap and murder of 22-year-old Brittany Killgore in April of 2012.
In a speech following the Council's unanimous vote in favor of the execution, Councilwoman Lorie Zapf said, "I want them to face the consequences of their behavior...And while I do support the legal proceedings against the killers, we are looking at many months, as you've been told, well into 2014, before a trial could take place. What could happen in those months? More women abducted and killed by copycats emboldened by our failure to enact justice, more lurid details polluting our media, and more City funds being spent on the killers' public defenders...And unfortunately, because of our out-of-date, strict innocent-until-proven guilty rules, as justifiably angry as the public is, there just are no guarantees that we will be able to put these monsters away, and that means they could possibly be found innocent or win on appeal. We just have way too many lovely young women right now that we're trying to keep alive."
As if sensing the possibility of objections to the Council's decision to subvert due process and the rule of law, Zapf went on to say, "This is honestly one of the hardest decisions I've had to make during my time here. All I can say is that leadership does not come easy. But I owe it to the people of San Diego to ensure that these three are gone and their behavior as BDSM killers comes to an end. This is the only sure way that we have to do that. There are some who will be angry with the vote and I do understand that, But I do have a duty and a responsibility to look at the big picture, and to protect our citizens. We had to act with these three. Just like we did with Mayor Filner."
In a special emergency session, the San Diego City Council today approved the immediate execution of Louis Ray Perez, 46, Dorothy Maraglino, 37, and Jessica Lynn Lopez, 26. The trio are all accused of participating in the kidnap and murder of 22-year-old Brittany Killgore in April of 2012.
In a speech following the Council's unanimous vote in favor of the execution, Councilwoman Lorie Zapf said, "I want them to face the consequences of their behavior...And while I do support the legal proceedings against the killers, we are looking at many months, as you've been told, well into 2014, before a trial could take place. What could happen in those months? More women abducted and killed by copycats emboldened by our failure to enact justice, more lurid details polluting our media, and more City funds being spent on the killers' public defenders...And unfortunately, because of our out-of-date, strict innocent-until-proven guilty rules, as justifiably angry as the public is, there just are no guarantees that we will be able to put these monsters away, and that means they could possibly be found innocent or win on appeal. We just have way too many lovely young women right now that we're trying to keep alive."
As if sensing the possibility of objections to the Council's decision to subvert due process and the rule of law, Zapf went on to say, "This is honestly one of the hardest decisions I've had to make during my time here. All I can say is that leadership does not come easy. But I owe it to the people of San Diego to ensure that these three are gone and their behavior as BDSM killers comes to an end. This is the only sure way that we have to do that. There are some who will be angry with the vote and I do understand that, But I do have a duty and a responsibility to look at the big picture, and to protect our citizens. We had to act with these three. Just like we did with Mayor Filner."